Redemption
by Jasmine Starlight
Summary: SasuHina “Hello, Sasuke, the boys are doing well. Itachi threw his first shuriken yesterday, never mind that it was at Kakashi. Sasuke is more trouble than I can sometimes handle. But I miss you, and I wish you could be here to see our sons grow up.


**Title:** Redemption

**Author:** Jasmine Starlight

**Universe: **Naruto

**Rating:** eh…what's the one that comes before M?

**Word Count: **2,072

**Spoilers:** eh…not that many…actually…not at all…

**Warnings: **angst and maybe romance. Implied smut. Perhaps some fluff toward the end. But no promises. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

**Time Started: **09:31 PM 8/10/05

**Time Completed: **09:45 AM 8/24/05

**Pairing (s): **Hinata x Sasuke

**A/N:** I haven't written Hinata/Sasuke for awhile now, and this fic has been in my head for several months now, just haven't had the energy to write it out. Must be because I wore out my Fall Out Boy CD. Guess, that makes 28 fics, huh? Whatever. I usually make Hinata work at the hospital. Why? Who knows? People requested more stuff like **Glimmer**. So I didn't try to recreate that. Just wrote from what was in my head. This is so sad……holy crap. EDIT:…this was supposed to be a one-shot. Now it is developing into a real fic. Would anyone read it?

**Dedication: ShikaruTo Hiniminita wl and YumYum-chan**

Hinata hummed cheerfully as she boiled water for a pot of tea, navigating her way back to the bedroom, carefully she slipped back between the covers in an attempt to not wake the lump on the other side of the bed.

She reached for the hairbrush that was on the nightstand and slowly began to comb the knots out of her short hair, moving the brush up and down steadily.

"Good morning." The lump on the bed mumbled darkly. Hinata smiled slightly and put the brush down.

"Good morning Sasuke-san."

Sasuke showed no signs of moving from his spot on the bed, Hinata gently pried the sheets from his white knuckles. "What would you like for breakfast?" she asked softly as she finger combed his trademark spikes.

"…you."

By now, Hinata should have been able to stop the flush from rising to her face. "Seriously, though Sasuke-san."

"…I seriously want to have you for breakfast." Sasuke repeated Hinata twitched as his breath tickled her ear. The next five minutes were punctuated by breathy giggles and interrupted when the tea pot whistled shrilly, Hinata disentangled herself from a rather belligerent Sasuke who would have been content to let the pot whistle all it wanted until he was finished.

Hinata's lips twitched as she deftly poured the tea into two cups and placed them on a tray and went back in toward the bedroom, where Sasuke had made an effort and put on boxers.

£££

Hinata sighed rather dejectedly as she forlornly gazed at the calendar that hung in the staff break room, in Konoha hospital. Sasuke was gone on a rather long mission. Even though the war between Sound and Leaf was long over, there were still rather violent pockets of rebellions popping up.

Sand's alliance had helped, but it still wasn't enough.

Hinata was cheered momentarily by the thought that he was probably on his way home soon, and then she began neatly filling out more paperwork.

£££

Hinata was almost done with her shift when it happened; she and Sakura were boredly fiddling with paperclips when Kiba burst through the ER doors. "Hinata! Hinata!" He bellowed loudly as he frantically looked for her, Hinata concernedly ran out to meet him, "Kiba-kun what is it? Tell me."

Kiba's eyes were frantic, "It was an ambush, we didn't stand a fucking chance--" Hinata caught Sakura's eyes as she held up the needle filled with a sedative, she shook her head.

"Kiba-kun, calm down, tell me what happened?" Hinata said, using her calm doctor voice.

He tried to calm down before continuing but it made little difference, Sakura advanced a little closer. "There were too many of them--"

"Of who, Kiba?" Hinata pressed as Sakura inched closer.

"Akatsuki." He murmured before Sakura plunged the needle into his veins, "Hinata-chan, the whole squad'll need medical attention. Take care of them, won't you? And Naruto and then Sasuke, he's…he's…" and soon Hinata found her arms full of ANBU Captain Inuzuka Kiba as the drugs finally took affect.

Hinata didn't have time to admonish Sakura about her bad timing on drugging patients as suddenly the ER was filled with injured ANBU. Hinata had lost count after the third squad had been taken care of.

Even though she was weary to the bone, she continued on way past her duty, Sakura was pulling the same, directing the flow of morphine and bandages. Which they were running dangerously low on, but Hinata suddenly felt all of her 21 years of age weighing her down. All that belittlement taken by her father's side, the masks, the vicious nuances of growing up within the Hyuuga, were suddenly suffocating her.

She slumped down in her chair, resting her pounding head on her arms. What had Kiba meant? What about Naruto and Sasuke? Try as she might she couldn't stop the dread from filling her stomach. She was broken from her reverie by Shizune pressing a cup of herbal tea into her nerveless fingers.

"Drink." Came the soft order.

"I don't think I'll be able to keep it down, Shizune-san." Hinata murmured exhaustedly.

"Try to."

Hinata would have given the woman a withering look but she was too tired, how could Shizune be so calm? So calm when the wounded were still pouring in, with no end in sight? With Tsunade-sama off in God knows where doing God knows what to help?

Suddenly the oppressive quiet was broken once again with the sound of the ER doors angrily being forced open. Gurneys rushed in, Hinata ignored the dreadful weariness that rose in her like a wave and returned to her job.

Sitting up in one of the stretchers was a familiar blonde figure that made hope rise her in chest, "Na-Naruto-kun!" the cry came from her lips unbidden.

Naruto's head was slumped on his chest, but he brightened when he heard her call, Hinata nimbly navigated her way around the wounded toward him, "Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed out of breath.

His face, although the whisker like marks and unruly blonde hair had never changed over the years, there was an odd grimness in his normally vibrant eyes.

Hinata felt the dread rise from the pit of her stomach once more, "Naruto-kun, what happened?" she asked searchingly.

He avoided her gaze, "Temee, he, he and Itachi." He said hoarsely after a long pause. He wrenched his eyes up to look Hinata square in the eye, "I knew it was a bad idea, but that bastard was hell-bent on it. And it didn't do a goddamn thing."

"Naruto-kun, what did he do?" Hinata asked painedly.

"He tried a fourth Chidori."

Hinata felt all the blood drain from her face as she clutched at the fabric of Naruto's Jounin vest, "No."

"No! No!" she shrieked as she felt to the ground, sobs wracking her small form.

£££

Hinata had never felt more alone in her life; she wandered around the hospital like a specter. Dumbly, checking patients and readjusting bandages, until she made her way to his room.

He looked _so_ pale and _so_ young. Hinata felt like crying again, but there were no more tears. She curled her fingers around his, and took note of the machines that were helping him breathe, "Sasuke-san, why did you have to do this? I know it was Itachi and Akatsuki and I know your clan is important, but—but I thought I was important too."

Tsunade heard this and felt her own heart sag, Naruto was slumped against the wall beside her, "Can't you do anything baa-chan?" he asked hopelessly.

"Naruto…Sasuke has severe chakra poisoning, it's sapping all his strength, and burning its way through his blood. There's nothing I could do that would stop it."

"How long does he have?" Sakura asked hoarsely.

"He could stay from anywhere between the next five minutes and the next five days, chakra poisoning this severe can do anything it wishes to the body." Tsunade replied wearily.

Naruto left his position on the wall and entered the glum room, Sasuke's form never looked so weak, his teammate's condition tugged at his heartstrings.

He made his way to where Hinata was slumped in a chair, "Hinata-chan?"

Hinata hiccuped, "Hi, Naruto-kun."

The awkward silence stretched on between them before Hinata spoke again, "Sasuke-san and I—we—we were thinking about getting married."

Naruto felt the knife in his heart twist, "I thought we would have a normal life."

"I'm an idiot."

£££

Hinata must have been dreaming; that could have been the only explanation for the thick mist that obscured her vision. Waving a hand in front of her eyes to dispel the mist she blindly made her way through it.

"Hello?" she called.

No answer, looking around she spied a soft glowing, ignoring all rationale in her head that told her it could be an enemy she ran toward it.

When she reached it, she noticed that she was in a clearing that the mist seemed to have avoided altogether. Odd, there was a long pillar of light in the middle. Unbidden, she moved toward it, there was a little voice in the back of her head telling her this was a bad idea.

Suddenly the pillar exploded into a flash of blinding light, when Hinata opened her eyes again she saw Sasuke's face staring down at her.

"Sasuke-san!" she exclaimed in relief as she ran toward him and embraced him, "I love you." was all he said.

"I love you too."

"Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"Take care of them for me." He whispered in her ear before the blinding light separated them again.

"Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi?" Hinata asked quizzically.

"Not them." He said as he cupped the side of her face and then he was gone.

Hinata awoke to the frantic beeping of the machines that were supposed to be monitoring Sasuke's life, quickly blinking the sleep from her eyes she watched as his heart-monitor slowly flat-lined.

She slowly went to his side and unplugged everything, the IV drip, the respirator, everything. Then she smoothed out his hair, "I'll always love you." She whispered in his ear before she went to go call Tsunade.

When she opened the door she was met by Kakashi, she shook her head and Kakashi pulled down his mask and embraced her.

£££

"Itai! Itai! No! Don't pull on Uncle's hair. That hurts!"

Hinata smiled as she slowly walked toward his grave. Now she understood what her dream had meant, two weeks after Sasuke's death Tsunade had called her into her office to tell her she was pregnant.

After the babies had been born, twins, Hinata had resigned her post at the hospital.

"Maa, maa, don't take Uncle's book."

She even went so far as to try to quit as a Jounin of Konoha Village but Tsunade had informed her short of a drastic betrayal she was stuck for life.

"My hair is not candy!"

She finally reached the grave and she placed the camellias she was holding down, "Hello, Sasuke-san, the boys are doing well. Itachi threw his first shuriken yesterday; never mind that it was at Kakashi-san. Sasuke is more trouble than I can sometimes handle. But I miss you, and I wish you could be here to see our sons grow up. They ask about you sometimes, how am I supposed to explain to them that their uncle tried to kill their father? I miss you most of all when Sasuke and Itachi go to the Academy. The shop is doing well."

"Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" Itachi ran toward her and she hefted him up with ease.

"What is it?" she said softly as she tucked a lock of hair behind his ears.

"Jiichan won't let me see his book! He's not sharing!" he exclaimed excitedly. Hinata smiled sadly, "That's because his book is very important to him. And you are not old enough to read it." She said softly.

"Okaa-san!" another voice was exclaiming from her side, she set Itachi down to stare in the wide eyes of her other son, Sasuke. "Uncle told me that if I don't eat ramen the ramen gnomes will eat me!"

Hinata bit back her smile, "Sasuke no one will eat you, I promise."

She held both of their tiny hands and let them light incense, both for their father and near the memorial of the Uchiha massacre.

"Okaa-san, jiichan said if I read that book, old ladies will come and eat me."

"Itachi no one will eat you."

"The ramen gnomes will!"

"Naruto!"

**END**


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